MS Dhoni launches SEVEN with Rhiti Group
RS Seven Lifestyle (P) Ltd, a part of Rhiti Group has launched its active lifestyle brand, SEVEN. Under the ‘SEVEN’ banner, the company will manufacture and market running, training, indoor, and athletic-leisurewear apparel and footwear. SEVEN is a young, energetic brand designed to appeal to the modern youth – #changemakers - who are bold, confident go-getters, unafraid to go after what they want on their own terms. The brand aims to drive home the point that fitness is accessible to not just sportspersons but everybody, whether you want to break a world record or simply break a sweat.
At SEVEN’s launch, India’s ‘Captain Cool’, Mahendra Singh Dhoni, was also announced as the brand’s global ambassador. As an icon of this new, younger, more confident India, Dhoni, the country’s most successful cricket captain projects SEVEN’s can-do attitude.
In addition to being the face of the brand, Dhoni, is closely involved in the design and development of the Seven range of footwear. His insights as an athlete have helped the design team in putting the range together and his inputs will be available to them in the future too.
A lot of research and development has gone into crafting the SEVEN product range that will be available across India and other international markets. In its opening season, SEVEN products will have an all-India distribution channel and will be made available across multi-brand retail stores and large format retail stores. SEVEN will also be available on Flipkart - the exclusive e-commerce partner and further sales will be driven through SEVEN brand’s own e-store and corporate sales.
Models showcased the SEVEN collection and MS Dhoni did the star-turn as the showstopper. The brand’s TVC featuring young India and MS Dhoni was unveiled for the first time to the press & media. The film espoused and advocated change, one day at a time, portraying the young generation as the #changemakers of India.
Also present at brand’s launch were Mr. Arun Pandey, CMD and Promoter, Rhiti Group, Kumar Subramanian, Group CEO, Gaurav Bahirvani, Joint President, Global Communications and Devtosh Jha, Business Head, RS Seven Lifestyle (P) Ltd.
Speaking about the company’s foray into the retail business, Mr. Arun Pandey, CMD and Promoter, Rhiti Group said “At Rhiti Group we have always wanted to be associated with fitness and an active lifestyle in a meaningful manner. We believe fitness is everybody’s right and not the sole domain of professional athletes. ‘SEVEN’ we believe will be the changemaker that nudges people to make this shift not just in the thinking but also in the doing. And in MS Dhoni we have the perfect brand leader to inspire people to do just that. A range of footwear like SEVEN has always been MS’ dream and I’m glad that today with his involvement and expert inputs with the footwear division, we’ve been able to fulfil that dream and offer SEVEN to the world.
Speaking on his association with ‘Seven’, Mahendra Singh Dhoni said, “The SEVEN ambition is all about making fitness an intrinsic part of every city, every town, every school, every home. In my opinion, you don’t have to be a professional athlete to take your fitness seriously. All you need is the motivation to lead an Active Lifestyle. The thought-process and positioning of SEVEN really excites me and I think it will strongly resonate with the youth of India as well. It has always been my dream to have my own brand of footwear in the market, which offers high quality products at affordable price points for the larger masses. And that opportunity came to me with SEVEN, wherein I’m closely involved with the design and development of the footwear division, and I keep offering my inputs to the design team on a regular basis.
Interestingly, SEVEN is also the number that I sport on my shirt, which only increases my fondness for the brand. I do hope that Seven’s vision for change become a reality.”
Commenting of his acquired additional responsibility in the footwear division, Dhoni said “I’m extremely excited to be involved in bigger capacity with the footwear division of SEVEN. I have been active from an early age and I believe it is essential to have correct footwear for performance and longevity. And I’m happy that Rhiti Group is committed to making high-quality products available at competitive prices.”
Kumar Subramanian, Group CEO, Rhiti Group -“SEVEN is an enabler of a healthy and active lifestyle. It’s a product and philosophy that invites everybody. It is the finest standard of active lifestyle footwear and apparel that is being specifically launched to target not just the cities but every small town of India. In MS Dhoni we find the perfect embodiment of this ambition. From a business standpoint, we don’t see ourselves in competition with other sports brands, we are in direct competition with lethargy, procrastination and the old way doing things. We have invested in design, in research, in production capabilities, but our biggest investment is our faith in the young generation of today’s India.”
Additional quotes:
“When you look around you realize that there is no prescribed size, shape or magnitude for a change in lifestyle. SEVEN is a brand that invites you to adopt a change where you like, in the manner you like and at the pace you like. It doesn’t have to be something forever, it can even be something you do for a day or even just for a moment, as long as it is a fun-filled process and not a chore. SEVEN applauds the professional athlete but it also recognises the amateur strife for excellence. And each of our products are meant to enable the changemaker in you” – Gaurav Bahirvani, Joint President, Global communications, brand & strategy, Rhiti Group
“With SEVEN, our ambition right from the start has been to offer an international quality active lifestyle product to every geography of India. Which is why we are a ‘mass-premium’ brand that aims to inspire and bring about a healthier way of living to every consumer in India and eventually across the world. Our distribution has been specifically designed to cater to this goal, while our pricing strategy fits very well with the affordability index of this thumb-texting, Google-researching, internet generation of India and the rest of the world. I strongly believe that in the coming months, SEVEN has the potential to reposition the athletic-leisure category. Because ultimately, this brand is an idea that is driven by consumers’ aspirations for change” –Devtosh Jha, Business Head, RS Seven Lifestyle (P) Ltd.